Pothole claim from council - ok to give insurance details?

[georgeyboy12345]

I hit this particularly nasty pothole in Princess Street in Manchester (be careful if you are there in Manchester, road is littered with them!) a few weeks back





and it did this to my wheel and tyre




Currently in the process of filling out a claim form and they want my insurance details for some reason. I'm guessing this is to prove you had a roadworthy/legal car?

There isn't any possibility the council could contact my insurance company and notify them of my claim with the council? I have heard of this kind of crap before, then the insurance co. using this as the perfect excuse to hike your premium. If this is the case, then I'll suck up the damage and not bother claiming, I don't want it costing me more in the long run.

Here's an excerpt from the council claim form:

[TwigtheWonderkid]

In terms of their liability, it doesn't matter if your car was legal or roadworthy. There's every chance they will contact your insurers. If they are liable, they are liable, so no need to give them anything else other that the info about the incident and the repair bill.

[No ideas for a name]

I know you don't want to hear this, but I doubt your claim will go anywhere.
Are you absolutely sure that damage occured from hitting that pot-hole?
It seems to have a tapered exit from the hole, and is in a 20mph zone.

Edit for spelling!

Edited by No ideas for a name on Wednesday 5th June 13:46

[J77wck]

That pothole doesn't look deep enough for a claim. Read the rules about pothole size first.

[Wotzname]

Sorry to hear of the damage OP, not nice and I suffered a similar fate to you a few weeks back. Thanks to continual roadworks on the M621, I had to divert and use a dreadful road littered with potholes. Suffice to say, being at night and unable to move out of the way due to oncoming traffic, I hit the blighter at 30mph or slightly less. The jolt was horrendous, and upon taking my car for a service & mot found out I needed a new shock absorber - the cost ???, a mere £550 fitted + cost of service & mot. So not a happy bunny as you can imagine. Browsed the web for advice, and found the appropriate claim form to fill out, and just like you was a little perplexed by the insurance question.

Short extract from said claim form below, that I can imagine is similar to Manchester CC claim form:

Important Information

Please take a few minutes to read the information below as it contains important information relating to your claim.

All claims are assessed individually and fairly and, where the Council is to blame, we will seek to settle the claim as
quickly as possible.

There is no automatic right to compensation. Before any decision on compensation can be made it will be necessary for you to demonstrate that there has been a breach of the appropriate law by the Council, and that you have suffered an injury or loss as a result.

Before making a claim against the Council it is advisable to consider the likelihood of your claim being successful.
Please be aware that over the last 5 years 74% of all public liability claims against the Council have been defended.

This form is issued to allow your claim to be fully investigated. The issue of this form does not imply any liability, nor that will any payment be made inrespect of the claim. If the claim concerns damage to a motor vehicle and you have your own insurance which covers such loss or damage you maywish to consider claiming against your own insurance.

After reading the above (in particular the bold section), and contemplating how much time and effort it would take to revisit the site, fill out the form etc, I decided to take it on the chin and move on. I will however, keep my eyes on your thread, and look forward with interest to see the outcome if you do decide to claim against them.

Good luck and stay alert !

[georgeyboy12345]

Thanks for the useful advice from the two of you that went to the effort to give it. The claim will only be for £95 for a new Pirelli tyre, and my insurance excess is something like £850, so even less certain now that this is worth pursuing.